A man wearing a plastic Batman mask was scared away when the elderly woman he was trying to rob Friday morning told him her husband was in the bedroom with a loaded shotgun, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.

File photoPatrick Record | The Ann Arbor News

The woman was trying to feed her birds in the backyard of her home, located in the 1000 block of Studebaker in Ypsilanti Township, around 6:30 a.m. when the mask-wearing man walked up to her and put his arms around her shoulders, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

The man guided her to the backdoor and asked if her husband was still sleeping.

When the woman told the man that he was in the bedroom with a loaded shotgun, the man quickly ran out of the yard, jumping over a fence, according to police.

As he was running away, he apologized to the woman and told her he just needed money to buy his kids food.

The woman and her husband called 911.

A canine search of the area took investigators northbound towards Tyler Road, where the dog lost the scent.

The male suspect was described as black, between approximately 5 foot, 7 inches and 6 foot tall, gray hoodie and sweatpants. The Batman mask was described as the hard, plastic style, according to the release.

If you have any information please contact the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office at (734) 994-2911 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.

John Counts covers crime and breaking news for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at johncounts@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.